Susan J. Napier

Susan J. Napier is Professor of Japanese Studies at the German, Russian, and Asian Languages and Literature Department, Tufts University.

She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University in East Asian Studies and Japanese Literature and was a research student at Ochanomizu Women's University in Tokyo. Susan Napier has taught at Harvard, Princeton, The University of London, and The University of Texas at Austin.

As one of the most noted experts on anime outside Japan, Susan Napier explores the cultural elements of anime and manga on both sides of the Pacific. For Susan Napier these Japanese art forms are important cultural vehicles that address themes relevant to today's complex world.

Susan Napier is the author of several books, the most recent of which are Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Japanese Animation and From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the West which was selected by Choice as one of the Outstanding Academic Books of 2008. In this book Susan Napier discusses the impact of Japanese culture over the last 150 years with a particular focus on anime fandom.